CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Ransdale House
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
What inspectors found, November 2023
Ransdale House is rated Requires Improvement; inspectors found kind, personalised care but important safety, medicines and management systems were not reliable enough.
Inspectors visited on four days between 14 February and 3 March 2023. They spoke with five people, a relative and staff. They reviewed care, medicines, recruitment and management records. A pharmacist specialist and a British Sign Language interpreter were also involved.
People generally received kind and respectful care. Staff understood people's communication needs, supported their choices and helped them take part in activities and appointments. People said they felt safe, and staff were described as committed and caring.
However, risks were not always assessed or managed properly. Fire evacuation arrangements, bed rail safety and behaviour support needed improvement. Medicines records and guidance were not always accurate or complete. Some staff training was out of date, and care records did not always contain important information.
The home was rated Requires Improvement overall. Safe, Effective and Well-led were rated Requires Improvement, while Caring and Responsive were rated Good. This was the first inspection under the new provider. The previous provider's rating was Good in 2018.
Kind and respectful care
People were supported by a long-standing staff team who understood their individual needs and treated them with warmth and respect.
“People received kind and compassionate care from staff who used positive, respectful language which people understood and responded well to.” from the report
Communication
Staff could use British Sign Language and other communication tools. Individual communication plans helped staff understand how each person expressed themselves.
“All staff could communicate using British Sign Language.” from the report
Choice and independence
Staff supported people to make decisions, pursue interests, try new experiences and develop skills.
“People had the opportunity to try new experiences, develop new skills and gain independence.” from the report
Activities and relationships
People took part in regular activities, trips and holidays. They also developed friendships within the home.
“People took part in activities in the house together, such as arts and crafts, cinema nights, theme nights and baking competitions.” from the report
Staffing and recruitment
Inspectors found enough staff to support people safely, good staff retention and appropriate recruitment checks.
“Staff were recruited safely. Appropriate pre-employment checks were completed.” from the report
Risk management
seriousSome important risks were not properly assessed or managed. This included fire evacuation, bed rails and distress-related behaviour support.
“Risks to people were not always appropriately assessed, monitored and managed.” from the report
Medicines
seriousMedicines records and care plans were not always accurate or complete. Guidance for some when-required medicines was missing, and cream application records did not always show that medicines were given as prescribed.
“Records were not always complete, and staff did not always follow the provider's medicines policy.” from the report
Staff training
needs fixingTraining was out of date in several areas, including safeguarding, infection control, de-choker training and fire awareness. CQC recommended that refresher training be completed.
“Staff training was not always up to date in several areas including safeguarding, infection control, de-choker training and fire awareness.” from the report
Management checks
seriousQuality audits did not find all the problems, and some known issues were not fixed. Required notifications were also not always sent to CQC.
“Quality assurance was not always effective.” from the report
Environment and records
needs fixingSome areas needed redecoration and some maintenance issues had remained outstanding for a long time. Staff also had difficulty accessing some electronic support information.
“Some maintenance issues within the property remained outstanding for long periods of time.” from the report
- 01What changes have been made to ensure every person has a safe fire evacuation plan and that night-time staffing is sufficient?
- 02How are bed rails now checked, serviced and included in individual risk assessments?
- 03How do you check that medicines records, when-required guidance and cream application records are complete and accurate?
- 04Which staff training courses were out of date, and have all staff now completed the required refresher training?
- 05What changes have been made to quality audits so that problems are found and fixed promptly?
This was a planned inspection covering all five key questions and infection prevention and control; it was the first inspection under the new provider. This explanation was written from the published report of 18 November 2023 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
Every inspection of Ransdale House
3 rated inspections over 8 years: the service has slipped, from Good to Requires improvement.
- November 2023Requires improvementcurrent ratingSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- December 2020Inspected but not ratedSafe: Inspected but not rated
- July 2018Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: OutstandingResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- March 2016GoodSafe: GoodEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- June 2021
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 30 June 2021.
Ratings and report dates from the Care Quality Commission, Open Government Licence v3.0. A home can also be visited without a new rating being published, so the timeline shows published inspections.
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35 live-in carers within about an hour of Middlesbrough
These are self-employed carers on PrimeCarers, the introductory agency that runs this directory. Each has a profile with their own rates and reviews from families, and you choose who to talk to.
Most charge £980 to £1,230 a week. 31 can care for a couple. 9 years' experience on average.
“I found Alison to be kind , caring helpful concencious... Alison has a heart of gold”
“Petty introduced herself to Mum every time she was caring for her and responded very quickly to Mum if she was distressed in the night.”
Every carer has had an enhanced DBS check in the last 18 months, ID and right-to-work checks and an online interview. Their skills and training are for you to check with them. Carers set their own rates, and who is free changes week to week.